1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hand washing and drying apparatus, and more particularly to an automatic hand washing and drying apparatus comprising a self-contained hand washing and drying chamber including in combination a hand washing liquid dispenser, a blow drying apparatus, a towel dispenser and a waste disposal device.
The present invention is an improvement to the automatic hand washing and drying apparatus disclosed and claimed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,579.
The present invention has particular utility in environments requiring frequent hand washing and drying operations. Examples of such environments include health care facilities, such as medical and dental offices, child care facilities, industrial clean rooms, and the like. The present invention also has particular utility in food handling environments, including food processing and dispensing applications. The present invention also has particular utility in heavily used public rest rooms, for example in airports, bus and train stations, and the like. Moreover, the hand washing and drying apparatus of the present invention has utility either as a free standing unit or in addition to existing washing facilities, and may be used in any environment that utilizes hand washing and drying.
2. Related Art
In the mid 19th Century it was first scientifically proved that frequent hand washing could prevent the transmission of a specific disease. Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician working in the maternity clinics of the Vienna General Hospital, observed that the maternal mortality from puerperal fever (sepis, child bed fever) was very low in the wards of the midwives. Their activities were largely confined to the ward and entailed the frequent washing of hands. In contrast, in the sections staffed by doctors and medical students, the incidence of disease was high and its mortality frightening. Observing that the doctors and students often came into the maternity ward directly from the dissecting rooms, Semmelweis reasoned that they might carry the disease from the dissected cadavers to the patients. He therefore ordered the doctors and students to wash their hands in a chlorine solution before entering the maternity ward. In a few months, the mortality from child bed fever declined dramatically, and the dread disease literally was washed away, decades before the milestone discoveries of microbes, microbial and a sepsis.
Studies also have demonstrated that hand washing is equally as important in many non-medical settings. Current literature in the fields of health care sanitation, and environmental protection contains many studies dealing with the transmission of disease by the hands. For example, studies have shown a significant decrease in disease transmittance in child care centers where children and providers of care are encouraged to wash frequently.
Many hand washing devices, including automatic, combined washing and drying devices are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,059,815 (Parsons), 3,992,720 (Davis), 4,295,233 (Hinkel), and 5,074,322 (Jaw) relate to hand washing and drying stations having an open configuration for accessing a hand washing device or a hand washing and drying device. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,817,651 (Crisp), 4,402,331 (Taldo), 3,918,987 (Kopfer), 3,757,806 (Bhasker) 4,688,585 (Vetter), 5,193,563 (Melech), 4,219,367 (Cary) and 5,265,628 (Sage) all relate to an automatic, contained, hand washing device generally including a pair of insertion ports for individually receiving a users hands and forearms to wash or wash and dry same.
Although each of the above-discussed devices may have advantages in certain applications, each has drawbacks. Wash stations that are not substantially enclosed often result in splashing of water when used. Drying by means of a towel, now usually made of disposable paper, requires the user to dispose of the towel in a designated receptacle, and often results in undesirable dispersal of wet towels outside of the designated receptacle. Although many hot air blow dryer devices are known, such blow dryer devices generally require a drying cycle in excess of one minute, often too long for the impatient or hurried user. Moreover, air blowing devices not substantially enclosed spray water and disseminate particulate matter into the environment. It is commonly observed that in rest rooms, the wash basin, soap dispenser, towel dispenser and disposal are usually at some distance from each other, resulting in splashing, ineffective use of receptacles, frequent periodic maintenance requirements, and an unclean and unsafe environment, such that the potential user often walks away, even in a setting in which washing of the hands is mandatory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,867 (Robinson), U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,523 (Goldstein) and Japanese Kokai Patent Document No. 5-325065 (Hamabe) each relate to a combination hand drying unit including a blow dryer and a towel or towel dispenser. The Robinson '867 patent discloses the use of a blow dryer provided side-by-side with a paper towel dispenser, the Goldstein '523 patent discloses the use of a blow dryer disposed immediately below a paper towel dispenser, and the Hamabe JP '065 reference discloses the use of a blow dryer provided immediately above a cloth towel. Each of these drying devices provides the advantage of quick drying of the hands using a towel in combination with blow drying means. However, each of these drying devices is provided remote from a washing station, in an open, wall-mounted configuration, which has drawbacks including dispersion of water and particulate matter during the drying operation, and/or accumulation of sold wastes requiring frequent periodic maintenance and waste disposal.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,579 (Chardack) remedies many of the above-discussed drawbacks. The Chardack '579 patent discloses an automatic hand washing and drying apparatus including combined blow drying means and towel dispensing means disposed in a washing and drying chamber. The Chardack '579 patent also discloses such a washing and drying apparatus in combination with a vacuum disposal system for collecting spent towels for bulk sanitary disposal. Although this apparatus provides significant advantages over other conventional automatic washing and drying devices, this apparatus also has a drawback in that it accumulates solid waste and requires periodic maintenance including disposal of the spent towels collected by the vacuum disposal system. Recycling centers generally do not accept used paper towels for recycling. Moreover, the number of regulations governing recycled waste products continues to rise, and disposal of bulk waste paper products presently is expensive. Accordingly, the need exists for an improved, inexpensive and sanitary hand washing and drying apparatus and method.